The Garden of Hespirdes
by Daisy and Heather
Summary: The prophecy of a child of the Big Three didn't start when Percy Jackson stumbled upon camp. Oh - it started a bit before that, actually. And here is the story of the four demigods that triggered that prophecy. Now's the time to hear their story. What're you waiting for? Let the danger engulf you along. :: OC/Co-authored ::
1. Prologue

**~ Prologue ~  
**

_she was the only thing that kept my sanity  
_

**Jason**

When I told my mother to be funnier at times, I didn't exactly intend to lead her to cracking jokes this bad.

Just a few minutes ago, when Mom said that I 'had an important destiny', I doubled over and started laughing so hard, she must've thought I was having a seizure. _I _thought I was having a seizure. It was a pretty normal day until fifteen minutes ago. And, normal day, coming from me, means a lot. Being only 15, I wasn't exactly the most normal teen you'd ever meet.

Lightning flashed outside, and rattled our windows. One of the worst storms yet was occurring in Boston, which was ironic, considering that it was June and almost 500 degrees outside just two days ago. I had come home from school, with yet _another_ note from the principal saying that I was officially kicked out _again_, and found Mom talking on the phone. Her voice was high and squeaky, and her lips were moving rapidly. Her blue eyes kept on darting back and forth, as if she didn't want to be caught.

If Mom was secretly dating - as disgusting as it is to think about - it was fine with me. She was a pretty cool mom, and took care of me pretty well. Trust me - having a kid with not only ADHD, but also with dyslexia, was not easy. I had no clue why she would be hiding her boyfriend from me. It wasn't as if I would scare him away (it was only _once_, and I swore never to do it again!).

It took me awhile to figure out that she wasn't talking to her 'boyfriend' (which earned a sigh of relief from me). My shoes squeaked as I glided into the kitchen, and went to the counter for a cookie. I leaned back, waiting for Mom to realize that her one and only son was waiting a few feet away from her. But she kept on talking. For a long time.

Or, maybe, it wasn't really such a long time. ADHD can do that to you - you feel as though time _never_ goes by, especially when you're tackling math problems in the last period of school.

I stood there, wondering why my thoughts were in second person point of view, and nearly missed the fact that Mom was done, and staring at me as if I bombed the library (which happened only _once_, mind you). I'm used to getting weird looks like that. With my gold hair in short spikes and electric blue eyes; I must look like a rich, juvenile delinquent to others. Cross out the rich part and that's me, I guess.

So, after a few minutes of having a staring contest with my mother, I spoke first. "I got a letter from the principal."

Mom waved me toward the dining table, and we both sat down, across from each other. She kept rubbing her forehead with her hand, and didn't seem to stress it much. Not that she ever did. Most of the time, she would say something along the lines of, "At least you were nearly done with this year" or "There's always next time, honey". But to see her all quiet and . . . depressed, I guess, it upset me even. Mom was probably looking for something to say rather than her normal pick-up line. I sighed, and lowered my head. I could hear the _pitter patter _of the rain as it landed and slid down our roof. It was eerily silent, and I don't think I would be surprised at all if a masked-guy came out from the back with a chain saw in his hands. _Stop it._ Thoughts like that would scare me, and give me nightmares when I was little. But I never stopped imagining.

I stared at the 40-year-old lady sitting across me. Dark blond hair and blue eyes, but not blue eyes like mine. They were darker, like gems. Something in her face hinted that my mother was once probably very beautiful, and I wondered what douche would leave her alone. Then I thought about those girls at school, the ones that most boys eyed, but didn't have a brain in their pretty little heads. I doubt Mom was ever like that. Even now - anyone could tell that this lady is qualified to be Einsteins great-great-great-granddaughter.

As it turns out, Mom wasn't thinking about how I got kicked out of school again. She was thinking about how to break the news to me about my Dad.

Dad - it felt weird saying it. I've never met him, and nearly hated him my entire life for leaving us alone. Don't get me wrong - I enjoyed Mom's company; she was like my best friend. But it wouldn't hurt to drop in at least _once in a while_ to check up on us.

It wasn't until later I figured out that he would get cut to pieces if he came down here to see me.

"Jason . . . " Mom began. Uh-oh. I knew that tone. She used it whenever I was impossible to convince that a slope of a graph wasn't actually 3D.

"Mom . . . " I imitated.

I saw the smallest trace of a smile on her face, but vanished in less than a second, so I figured that I must've been imagining. Because, right now, my Mom was dead-serious. No jokes.

"Jason." She took a steady breath. "There's something I have to tell you."

_Please don't say that you can't handle me anymore,_ I thought._ Please. I'll behave better. Don't send me to an orphanage._

"You . . . aren't like most kids, Jason. I hope you know that," Mom told me. I blinked several times, repeating what she just said in my head. _You aren't like most kids. _Here I was, being told by my own mother that I wasn't normal. What a jolly good sensation I must be feeling right now.

"Oh, sure, Mom." I leaned back in my chair. "Only every teacher has been telling me that for the past eleven years." I was really in ninth grade - thank goodness I was at least smart enough to not get left back - but ever since I started pre-school, all I would hear was that "Jason is not like other kids, you should get him checked". At least Mom had the sense not to lie.

"Don't get me wrong, honey," Mom said in a quivering voice. "I don't mean it that way. You're different, but in a good way." I was about to say something real smart, like, "I know I am", but she cut me off. "Hear me out, okay?"

I nodded after two seconds of hesitation. She let out a breath of - what? Relief? Sadness? Pain? I couldn't tell. But somehow, I knew the answer was all three.

"I have to send you somewhere - " she continued, but I cut her off.

"What? Like boot camp? No way." I shook my head stubbornly.

"Listen to me, Jason," Mom said in a hard voice, her blue eyes paralyzing me in place. "You can't stay here. It isn't safe for you. I promise, I'll do whatever I can to protect you for now. But you can_not_ stay here with me as you used to. Do you understand, Jason? I don't want anything bad happening to you." Mom looked at me for a few seconds, probably trying to see if I was listening or paying attention. I tried putting on a careless expression on my face but ultimately failed. I heard every word that she said and I had a sinking feeling in my gut.

"You have an important destiny ahead of you."

I stared at my Mom. "What?" I questioned. I had heard what she said, but I didn't exactly place it in my head.

"Jason, do not take this lightly. Your destiny - "

Then I started snickering, and eventually laughing my insides out. Maybe it wasn't really funny; maybe it was just from all the tension in the room. But I laughed as if there were no tomorrow. Important destiny? Yeah, sure. My destiny was mainly to focus on _not_ getting hauled into jail. It took a few minutes for me to get myself together, especially after one glance at Mom. She had a different expression on her face, something I couldn't really place. Disappointment? Anger? Frustration? It was probably all three.

"Mom? Are you serious?" I urged. Suddenly, the weirdest thing happened. I realized that she was _crying_. Not 'boo-hoo-my-son-is-such-a-dumbo'. More like 'why-can't-I-protect-people-I-love?' Quiet sobs escaped her mouth and tears slowly slid down her face. I felt awkward, just sitting there, watching my mother cry. _Put your arm around her, you moron!_ a voice cried in my head. But I wasn't sure that was what my Mom wanted.

Lightning flashed dangerously outside. I went up to the window to draw in the shutters. What I saw outside didn't make any sense. I squinted through the rain and saw an enormous figure walking toward us. No, not walking. It was more like thumping. The sidewalk cracked where ever it's foot touched it. I drew in my breath, half expecting police to come. But nothing happened, and no one came. It was as if the neighborhood had died.

An uneasy feeling came over me. I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked back and saw my Mom, her mouth wide open, gaping at what I think was the figure. Any signs of tears were gone.

"Mom . . . ?" I started. "What is that . . . - "

"Jason? Jason! Listen, we _have_ to get out of here," Mom said.

"Why?" I demanded, but followed her lead.

Mom grabbed a couple of things off the kitchen counter and shoved them all in a bag, that she slung over her shoulder. Panic aroused me. The _thumps _were close now.

"Mom?" I yelled. Gray smoke embraced the entire house, making it hard to see.

"Jason!" I heard a choked voice cry.

"Mom!"

I made a mad dash toward her voice, constantly stumbling over things. The smoke was making my eyes water. Then, finally, I heard sirens. _Yes,_ I thought. _The police are going to rescue us from whatever that thing was. Mom and I'll be safe. We'll get out of here . . . _

I bumped into the wall, and a burning pain burst in my nose. Something was running down my lips, and a bad feeling told me it was blood.

"Jason!"

I saw my Mom clearly now. She was waving me over. She was _smiling_. A sad smile, but it was still a smile. I ran over and nearly knocked her down in a hug.

"We'll get out of here, honey," she promised, stroking my hair like she did when I was younger.

Only then did a blow knock me and mom to the ground, with the house shaking violently. Fire was dancing on the ceiling, and the smoke was gone.

But a creature was in. I grabbed my head and looked at the creature looming over Mom.

I tried shouting, but my voice didn't work. I gasped for air, when I realized that it wasn't the best thing to do. I felt another jolt.

I stayed conscious long enough to see my own mother blow up along with the house.

* * *

A/N: Hello! So . . . this is the first chappy. Prologue, because I just wanted the readers to kinda see what happened _before _hand. This takes place before PJO, remember that. So it's before The Hunger Games came out, before Twilight came out and definitely before they found out Romans existed . . . or did they? Stay tuned for the next chapter by the ever-lovely Daisy!


	2. Camp HalfBlood

Hi hi! Daisy here, though I'm much better known as Goldenheart11. :-) I'll being taking over this chapter so I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: Neither Daisy (Goldenheart11) or Heather (Sadie Cahill) own anything to do with Percy Jackson. We do own our characters though!

* * *

PJPJPJ

**Jason**

"Kid… Kid you've got to wake up! I can't keep dragging you around!" cried an unfamiliar voice

I opened my eyes to see a fairly young man's face. It was sharp and angular with thick black brows and dark eyes.

"Wha-?" I groaned trying to remember what had knocked me out in the first place

"Mom!" I gasped in realization, my memories coming back in a flood

"Um, no. I'm not your mom, kid. The name's Ajax." said the young man

"No, my mom-" I froze when I stared at his legs, his black _furry goat legs_

"What about your mom, kid?" urged Ajax

"I'm unconscious. I'm dreaming. Goat legs aren't normal. This isn't real." I mumbled to myself

"Oh, in the name of Pan! I don't have time for this! You're in danger!" snapped Ajax

"Fine, I'm tired and this isn't real so I'll play along. What am I in danger of?" I asked

"I need to get you to Camp Half-Blood. Got it?" growled Ajax

"Okay, camp. That'll totally save me from something you won't tell me about," I grumbled

"Kid, I'm not above knocking you out and dragging you to camp," retorted Ajax

"Whatever, none of this is real anyway." I sighed

"Follow me kid. And why is it so hard for you to accept this is real? I'll never understand that about noobs," sighed Ajax, starting in one direction through the alley we were in.

"If it was real then . . . my mom is dead," I said, following him as suddenly realization started hitting me like a ton of bricks.

What if this is real? What if Ajax is real? What if my mom is dead? It stung worse that anything I've ever felt. I've gotten my fair share of punches at at school but nothing knocked the wind out of me quite like this.

"Hey… Don't puke, kid. I'm sure she's fine. She must be laying low, you know?" Ajax said, staring at me with concern

"She wouldn't ditch me like that," I protested.

"You're safer with me. She must be smart enough to know that," Ajax replied.

We walked for a while in silence. I was lost in thought about what was going on. So far it appeared I was going to camp, being hunted by some weird danger Ajax wouldn't tell me about, Ajax was part-goat, and my mom may be dead.

"Where is this camp, Ajax?" I asked.

"Well, we're meeting up with a girl named Hypatia. She's a tough thing but she won't bite. We'll be riding Pegasus's the rest of the way to camp, unfortunately. Those things don't really like me. . . . Or Hypatia, for that matter, but she's one of the oldest campers we have so she's sticking with us," Ajax said

"Pegasus's… We'll be riding Pegasus's. Of course." I sighed again.

"Don't worry, kid. Once we get there everything will be explained," Ajax ominously replied.

"Why me, Ajax? Why is this weird stuff happening to me?" I asked.

"You're… it's not my place to tell you yet. Sorry," said Ajax with a frown.

"Don't I deserve to know, though?" I protested.

"Of course! And you will, kid. Just not yet. It's . . . - hellhound!" Ajax suddenly cried.

"Wha-" I started and I saw exactly what Ajax had called a "hellhound". It looked like a black dog but was as big as a grizzly bear. It was staring at me like I would make a perfect meal, bearing its ugly yellow teeth.

"Ajax! What is that thing?" I gasped.

"Hellhound… It-I…" Ajax couldn't even speak, his face filled with horror.

The hellhound launched itself forward at me and I closed my eyes. I heard a horrible snarling whine-like noise. When I opened my eyes the hellhound had an arrow in its shoulder and was focused on something else. A tall, tan girl with her ink black hair in a braid and storm cloud grey eyes. In her hands was a sleek, black bow.

"Hypatia!" howled Ajax with delight.

The girl pulled out another arrow and shot it straight at the creature. With a howl of a pain, it hit the hound's stomach and the monster fled.

"You just closed your eyes? You didn't face it head on? Your head is as full of air as Golden's," scoffed the black haired girl

"Well what did you expect? Not everyone carries a bow and arrow around with them!" I snapped, irritably. Who did she think she was, challenging me to face something I didn't even know existed?

"Well, if you had…" she started.

"Well, Jason meet Hypatia! Hypatia meet Jason!" chuckled Ajax

"Humph! The camp is already full of fools. Do we really need another?" scoffed Hypatia

"Okay, listen-" I snarled angrily

"Where are the Pegasus's, H?" Ajax interrupted

"Up the hill. Come along boy, time to test your courage," sneered Hypatia. I almost rolled my eyes. 'Test my courage'? This was definitely not the camp for juvenile delinquents.

PJPJPJ

Sorry it took so long! I've been dealing with some stuff lately, so I've been a little stressed. Glad to be writing again! I really wanted to make Jason ask if Hypatia was Katniss as a joke but this takes place before the franchise… I think. Next, maybe you'll get to meet more campers!

Love y'all!

-Daisy


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